


Floor Eighteen

by luvkaykay41



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst?, Elevators, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Gun Violence, Guns, How Do I Tag, Human Gems (Steven Universe), Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, I'm bad at this, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Physical Abuse, Sharing a Bed, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:14:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23252272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luvkaykay41/pseuds/luvkaykay41
Summary: Peridot is an engineer with multiple jobs, Lapis is a part-time paleontologist and a part-time server. They live in the same apartment building with a broken elevator,  will the two be friends or enemies? Will the elevator ever get fixed? Only time will tell. Rated M for later on mentions of abuse and noncon elements. (involving Jasper) this story has turned out to be quite the opposite of what I intended it to be. I'm really bad at this. Written after some inspiration from an anon on Tumblr about an elevator. find me there @kayluhoh leave requests in my ask box, anyway, I hope you like this. I'm bad at punctuation I'm sorry, I hope it's still readable. Enjoy!
Relationships: Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 83





	1. Coffee among other things

**Author's Note:**

> Part two will be up as soon as I finish it, I am writing it as you read. you will KNOW if I abandon it. Happy quarantine. Stay safe y'all.

It had been a rather stressful day for Peridot, it was sweltering hot in Houston, Texas. Peridot is an intern astronautical engineer for NASA, a cashier at a local CVS, and a medical data analyst for the university. Ideally, she hopes to place her full focus on her engineering career that she spent six years getting a degree for. Today she had a shift at all three, the last leg of her day took a toll on her. She worked with hot metal and welding equipment as the day tapered off. Although the engines were inside, the heat seemed to carry through the garage. She could still feel the sweat drying from around her neck even though the sun had long since set. 

She drives to the apartment building she has been residing in since her sophomore year of undergrad. This would be about 4 years ago, and she could now afford somewhere better, she made a mental note to search for a better living space once she had the time. She parks in her assigned parking space, being sure her resident pass is clearly visible, she has received many wrongful tickets for forgetting that one small detail. She leaves her car quickly, going to her backseat collecting each of the bags she takes to her multiple jobs, she pulls her messenger bag out and slings it across her body. This had her lunch, laptop, and uniform from her cashier job. Her backpack came next, the weight of papers, blueprints, and her own tools dig into her shoulders as exhaustion sets in. She pushes her glasses up before leaning down again. she moves a pile of energy drinks to the floor of her car, grabbing her briefcase and suit from her data analysis job, she has some take-home work for the weekend. It's Friday, she is looking forward to her time off. 

She walks toward the door of the apartment building, setting her briefcase down and checking her mail upon entering, there was usually never anything in the small box but, she still checks her mail religiously, looking for pieces she is constantly ordering for her self-built PC. Today, however, there is just a small letter, she grabs it and removes her key from the mailbox, lifting her briefcase from the ground walking toward the elevator when she stopped, there is a sign taped over the call button “OUT OF ORDER” she groans softly looking up at all eighteen floors she will have to ascend. She makes her way to the stairs breathing deeply. 

The climb was exhausting and long. When she finally reaches her apartment door # 1823 she fumbles with her keys, finally finding the right one and pushing the door open flicking the lights on. She takes off all her bags sighing in relief, she places the letter on her desk for later. She unpacks each of her bags and microwaves a hot pocket and collapses at her desk to eat. She sorts through the papers in her briefcase first and then gets a good look at the letter that was in her mailbox, she realizes it is not a letter for her but a letter for one of her neighbors, addressed to someone by the name of Lapis Lazuli, she stops chewing momentarily glancing over at her clock, 10:30 p.m. it’s far too late to be knocking on people’s doors. She decides it can wait until the morning.

She worked on her take-home work, mindlessly. She finished her meal and ate up all of her work in about an hour, she played a few mass multiplayer games with her good friend Bismuth, a local construction worker Peridot had roomed with her freshman year of college. Bismuth dropped out to get certificates instead of a bachelor’s degree, she was easy-going and enjoyed gaming almost as much as Peridot. They would often play until the wee hours of the morning. But Peridot was exhausted on this particular night, she signed off, showered, and headed to bed. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

Lapis is a paleontologist by day and a server by night, still young in her field, she spends most days at the museum interning and gaining experience studying fossils, learning all of the information and secrets they hold, and today was no different. She switches from a relaxed 9-3 shift at the museum to a rather exhausting 4-8 dinner shift at a small diner she serves at on the weeknights. It is run by two older ladies, Ruby And Sapphire, Lapis is good friends with their daughter, Garnet. 

Her shift went by quickly considering it was a Friday night, but it was no less exhausting. She drives back to her apartment building eager to see her cat, a calico named Pumpkin. She sighs sadly after checking her mail. Lapis has been expecting a letter from Steven, her younger brother who she hasn’t seen since he graduated high school. That was 10 months ago, he was struggling with himself, so he took a gap year to find out what he wanted. This particular letter was important because it would tell her if he was coming to The University of Houston to live with her. Her mailbox is empty, she worries for her sibling, his letter being late is no comfort. She notices the sign on the elevator “OUT OF ORDER” she turns on her heel toward the stairs and begins the slow descent up. 

On floor 9 she sits on the step and takes a short break, before resuming the climb, she thinks to herself ‘at _least I won’t have to go to the gym this week_.’ She stands and continues climbing. She reaches her door, #1832 she unlocks the door quickly, and immediately kneels to greet her cat, petting her gently and scratching her underneath her chin. Finally standing, Lapis feeds her cat and then herself, chowing down on the meal the diner’s chef, Amethyst had made for her upon leaving.

Amethyst does this often, leaving a to-go box for her under the heat lamp 20 minutes before close. She never expects it of course, but it's a sweet gesture nonetheless. Sometimes even the general manager, Pearl, makes sure she doesn't forget the box. Everyone at the diner is so nice and caring, Lapis smiles warmly at the thought of them. She’ll be sad to leave serving but she can’t wait to dedicate her life to paleontology. She was always a sucker for history. Lapis climbs into her bed deciding that she will shower in the morning, she is far too exhausted for it now, she falls asleep in uniform. 

Lapis wakes the next morning to Pumpkin pawing her nose wanting breakfast, Lapis gets up stretching and shuffling into the kitchen to open a new can of cat food for her furry friend, who meows and purrs happily as Lapis scoops the contents into a small dish, Lapis starts the coffee machine and goes to shower. She washes and conditions her hair, she has dye in these products, to keep her hair dyed a medium clean blue, and gets into some pajamas, not interested in dressing for the day. Turning on some music as she begins cleaning her apartment. 

——————————————————————————————————————————-

Peridot wakes with a dry mouth, sore throat and a crick in her neck. She tends to always sleep fitfully and in the strangest positions. With her eyes closed, Peridot reaches for a bottle or a can or something to moisten her mouth once again, she takes a swig of some day-old Mountain Dew and immediately regrets it. She paws around again searching for her glasses knocking over several empty cans and bottles in the process, once she has her glasses on, she assesses her surroundings. Given the current state of her bedroom, She decides she needs to clean today to try to avoid the can hoarding situation from repeating itself. She stands up and sleepily brushes her teeth and brushes her hair collecting cans and bottles from each room she visits before noticing the letter on her desk. She freezes and contemplates if it is worth it to leave the comforts of her own mess today, she drops the cans and bottles, and against her better judgment, Peridot throws on a hoodie and slippers grabbing the letter before leaving, determined to return to cleaning before her motivation evaporates and she sinks back into gaming. 

She walks down the hallway trying to find the correct door number. “Eighteen thirty-two...eighteen thirty-two, ah here it is,” she grumbles to herself. It was nine doors to the right of hers. She knocks on the door and waits a few moments Peridot freezes in astonishment as the door opens, she stares agape at the girl before her, she is tall, with short deep blue hair and a smile, she wears grey sweatpants and a white v neck t-shirt. It feels like she was in one of those chick flick movies where people bump into each other and fall in love. Peridot notices that the girl seemed to be awaiting a greeting of some sort. She stumbles through sentences, “Hi, um... I’m Peridot. Are you Lapis?” she kicks herself for sounding so dumb. 

“Yeah, you’ve got the right person,” Lapis states nonchalantly, almost giggling. Peridot inhales sharply. 

“Anyway… I live across the hall… our mail got mixed up… this is for you,” Peridot looks away, handing the letter over. 

“Peridot… yeah, I’ve seen you around,” she takes the letter from Peridot’s hand, their fingers brush together softly, Peridot pulls away quickly. “Would you like to come in for some coffee?” Lapis offers, before Peridot can speak, she is nodding and stepping into the door jamb as it opens invitingly. “Gimmie one second I just have to read this,” Lapis closes the door behind Peridot before digging her thumb underneath the seal of the letter walking away quickly. Peridot looks around at her apartment, it is much cleaner and homey than hers, it has plants, posters, and a cat tree by the window. She had forgotten these were pet-friendly apartments. She scans the space for the little furball before locating it at her feet rubbing against her legs she giggles softly kneeling down. 

“Hi there…” she pauses flipping over the name tag “Pumpkin,” she giggles out. she strokes the cat’s warm fur as it purrs like a motorboat headbutting back into Peridot’s hand. Lapis returns quickly, even happier than before.

“Do you take cream and sugar?” Peridot jumps at the unexpected sound turning toward the source. 

“Yes, but not very much,” she responds standing up, giving the cat one last scratch behind the ear, and it trots off. “That’s a nice cat you have there,” Peridot says as Lapis hands a mug over.

“Oh, Pumpkin?” she laughs, “Yeah, she’s pretty great. Would you like to sit down?” she motions toward the couch.

“Sure, that’d be nice,” they move to sit down. Peridot sips the coffee, it was almost perfect, a tad bit too sweet, but she drank it anyway, the caffeine was helping the headache she seems to have acquired. 

“Thanks for bringing that letter, it was important to me,” Lapis said curling up to look at Peridot. 

“Oh, it was no problem, thanks for the coffee.” she lifts the mug slightly, motioning. Peridot sits on the edge of the cushion holding the mug tightly. The windows were open, and the sound of birdsongs fill the apartment.

“Oh, I always make way too much,” she pauses and looks to the window smiling.“Do you hear the birds? You can rarely hear them out here, that’s a house sparrow.” it flies to the windowsill, it was a brownish-red bird, a common sight in the United States. Peridot watches it as it flies in front of the window a few times. She smiles, she’s always so busy, she never really notices them anymore.

“You like birds then?” Peridot asks taking another sip of the coffee looking back towards her host.

“Love them, they’re so free. Sometimes I wish I could grow wings, and fly away, just like them,” she watches the bird longingly as it flies away. Peridot didn’t realize she was staring until Lapis made eye contact, Peridot’s heart skips a beat, she was never one to feel attraction, or have crushes… until now. Peridot averts her eyes and looks back down to the mug in her hands before speaking again.

“Forgive my nosiness but what was the letter for? It seemed to put you in a great mood,” Lapis giggles at the question, but answeres comfortably

“It was from my younger brother, it made me happy because he’s coming to live with me in the fall,” she smiles once again sipping her beverage. They sit for a moment, awkwardly, Peridot quickly finishes the rest of her coffee.

“Well, thank you again for the coffee but I should really get going,” Peridot stands, and Lapis follows suit. Peridot places the empty mug on the table and begins walking to the door.

“Thanks again for bringing the letter neighbor,” Lapis winks attempting to be flirtatious, noticing how flustered she seemed to make Peridot, she is sorta cute after all. Peridot blushes as Lapis opens the door for her and Peridot leaves quickly not looking back, and goes into her apartment, without another word.

Lapis watches the small blonde closely, watching which door she goes into, before grabbing a piece of paper and an envelope writing her phone number, address and a small note down, **_‘A letter for a letter. Let’s hang out again soon xx -Lapis’_ ** she walks to Peridot’s and slips the envelope under the door, walking away before anyone sees her.


	2. Smoothies and Small Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stuff gets kind of real in this chapter, please be advised, there are graphic depictions in here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little longer and the story gets kind of real, but please bear with me, I really like where this is going.

Peridot is behind on her cleaning. She keeps thinking about this morning and couldn’t stop, she continues bagging empty cans and bottles, sorting them out for recycling. She tries to space out to her audiobook and place her thoughts elsewhere, but her mind keeps traveling back to Lapis. This is ridiculous, Peridot has never had a single distraction in her daily life and all of a sudden there’s a pretty girl down the hall, and now she can’t tell the difference between aluminum and plastic.

‘Maybe I’m just touch starved.’ Peridot thinks to herself as she pulls yet another can out of the bottle bag. She sighs, pausing her work momentarily to bend down and gather more cans and bottles from the floor, that’s when she sees it, a white envelope with blue ink across the front, ‘ **Peridot.** ’ she picks it up with shaky fingers and opens the envelope to see a phone number inside, she pulls her Samsung out and types the numbers into a new contact, before typing a message out for her neighbor, “ **_This is Peridot, thanks for the phone number, I’ll be sure to let you know if I need a cup of sugar :)_ **” Lapis reads the message and smiles glad to know Peridot got her letter, she quickly replies.

“ **_Very funny, Peri. Is that an acceptable nickname? Either way, that’s what I’ll be calling you._ **” Peridot is astonished she answered so quickly. She works up a witty reply.

“ ** _Sure Peri is an acceptable nickname, although it would seem that I don’t have much choice_** **_in the matter XD._** ” she hits send before second-guessing herself and saying something dumb.

“ **_You’re right, but I’m glad you like it anyway. :) are you busy later? We should go for a walk or something. I’m bored out of my mind._ **” Lapis hits send and suddenly remembers the broken elevator, she puts that to the back of her mind for now. She wanted to see this strange person again. Peridot thinks for a moment and decides gaming can wait.

“ **_Sure, I’ll be free in about an hour. Do you like smoothies?_ **” Peridot gets butterflies at the thought of seeing Lapis again, she waits for a response.

“ **_Love them. See you in the hallway in an hour._ **” Peridot quickly fumbles through her cleaning, clearing out most of the garbage, making an unspoken promise to never let it get that bad again. Now comes the difficult part, what to wear? Peridot goes through her small collection of clothes that don’t involve work, she decides on a green and black alien t-shirt and a green and black flannel, that she ties around her waist with black jean shorts and a pair of converse, a simple but nice look. Lapis searches for an outfit and ultimately decides on blue jean shorts and a white tank top, she pulls on white vans and feeds her cat prior to leaving, throwing on a baseball cap. 

They leave their apartments at the same time. “Hey!” they both speak in unison, Lapis walks over to Peridot, they start towards the stairs. They begin going down, they make small talk as they go, asking about each other’s jobs, educations, families, likes, and dislikes. They finally reach the bottom of the long stretch down,

“I hope they fix that elevator soon, I don’t know if I can handle another walk up these stairs,” Lapis says laughing, Peridot joins in, they joke as they make their way to the smoothie shop down the street, “What made you pick smoothies?” Lapis finally asks.

“Well that’s a very long story; I live in Texas and It’s hot, next,” Peridot says jokingly.

“Ah so she’s feisty,” Lapis responds almost crying from laughter.

“I’ll have you know I could beat you in a fight… probably,” Sarcasm pulls at Peridot’s voice.

“Ah, all people five foot one say that my dear Peri,” Lapis says just as sarcastically. They both snicker as they reach the smoothie shop, Peridot orders a mango strawberry blend, Lapis orders a blueberry something or other. They go to a park to sit and drink their frozen treats. They grow even more confident in each other’s presences growing slightly flirtatious 

“So uh… are you seeing anyone?” Peridot finally asks, her shyness creeping back up.

“Ah asking the juicy questions now,” Lapis responds shifting so she is cross-legged on the park bench turning to face Peridot.

“I’m sorry you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, I was just curious,” Peridot worries she crossed some boundary or line.

“I am seeing someone at the moment actually, her name is Jasper,” Lapis responds hesitantly, the name weighs heavy on her heart and Peridot can sense it but she doesn’t say anything.

“How long have you two been together?” Peridot hesitantly pushes for more information.

“About two years now. We met through a mutual friend,” Lapis hadn’t really spoken about Jasper in a long time to anyone, let alone someone she just met. “She’s in the air force, we don’t see each other much. Shes deployed in Kuwait.” Lapis says this almost absentmindedly, the thought of Jasper makes her want to become a bird even more, but she doesn’t say this aloud. No one will ever know what goes on behind closed doors. Lapis quickly changes the subject, “So a photographic memory? I bet that was a lifesaver in high school.” Peridot wants to push a little more, there was clearly something else going on, but she knows better.

“A blessing and a curse I suppose, sometimes you remember too much useless stuff…” they go on a while longer, but their conversation ends as the sun sets and the chill of the night sets in, Lapis shivers against the breeze.

“We should go, it’s getting cold,” Lapis says standing up, Peridot follows stretching and begins the walk back to their building. Peridot hesitates before untying the flannel from her waist to drape over Lapis’s shoulders, “Oh how chivalrous,” Lapis says smiling taking the shirt gratefully and slipping her arms through the sleeves, they walk quietly, Lapis’s heart is heavy with thoughts of Jasper.

“Do you miss her a lot?” Peridot asks shyly.

“Most days.” Lapis lies. “at some point, I guess I just got used to her being gone” this confuses Peridot, but it truly wasn’t her business. Lapis changes the focus to Peridot, “but enough about me, anyone special in your life?” 

“Not particularly, I guess I just haven’t looked up from my work in a while. I actually try to keep my sexuality to myself mostly, I have no idea how NASA treats LGBT+ workers. Better safe than sorry I suppose,” Peridot says truthfully,

“It’s a shame. You’re a really smart and talented person. Why would who you’re attracted to change that?” Peridot looked down, blushing. Lapis likes the way compliments get to Peridot, it was as if she’d never gotten them before.

Upon reaching the lobby of the apartment, Peridot notices that the elevator seemed to be back in service, so Peridot pushed the call button, “hopefully this works okay,” Peridot said nervously. The elevator opens, and they both step in, Peridot pressed the number 18 as the doors close, and the elevator goes up, it rumbles and squeaks, there’s a loud bang as the elevator starts to shake and Lapis’s soft hands wrap around Peridot’s bicep and forearm. Peridot is surprised at the sensation but she doesn’t resist. The elevator dings as the doors open, Lapis lets go just as fast as she grabbed on. 

“Sorry, about that, I was scared,” heat rises into Lapis’s cheeks, she’s blushing for the first time in a long time.

“It’s no problem,” Peridot laughs, “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared too,” Peridot walks Lapis to her door and Lapis returns the shirt.

“Come for coffee tomorrow if you’re not busy, I’ll make too much as always,” Lapis says unlocking her door and opening it, turning to look at Peridot, Peridot folds her hands across her heart nervously, avoiding biting her nails. It was a habit Peridot never lost.

“I’ll let you know before I come over. Goodnight.” Peridot goes back to her apartment as Lapis closes her door.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

Peridot gets back to her apartment and immediately starts a game with Bismuth.

“Sounds like someone has a crush,” Bismuth teases after Peridot tells her about her day,

“Oh, hush. they’re on your left” Peridot is warning Bismuth of the enemy in the game “you know I’ll die alone, right?” Peridot said into her microphone 

“Peridot, you have to stop talking like that about yourself. Down the stairs,” Bismuth responded, frustrated that her friend couldn’t see her own worth. While also warning Peridot of the enemies. Peridot rotated the joystick so the character was looking down the stairs, eliminating the enemies before speaking again.

“Bismuth, I’m far too focused on my career to be worrying about girls right now,” Peridot said as the game ended, the word victory written across the screen

“But you have time to play games with me? Listen to me Peridot, I know how shy you are, but you shouldn’t let it hold you back,” Bismuth said attempting to convince her friend otherwise.

“It’s not even about that Bismuth. She has a girlfriend. I clearly should not be flirting with her. Things sound complicated at the moment though. I have a bad feeling.” Peridot said remembering the weight the name Jasper seemed to have on Lapis. 

“Then you be her guardian angel. She at least needs a friend, and you’re perfectly capable of that. Okay Peridot, I’m gonna sign off for tonight. Let me know how coffee goes! Good night,” Bismuth clicks off. 

“Goodnight,” Peridot says before the familiar trill of the player offline sounds in her headset. She turns off her console and removes her headset, she glances over at her cell phone, she has a missed text from Lapis, “ ** _Hey, I’m gonna have to raincheck coffee tomorrow,_** **_Jasper came to surprise me. I hope you can understand_** ,” her stomach drops and she quickly texts back.

“ **_No worries. Let me know when is good for you,_ **” Peridot goes to bed.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

The door to Lapis’s apartment opens unexpectedly, fear and dread fill Lapis’s entire body. “Hi, Jasper, its good to see you, welcome home,” Lapis greets her girlfriend fakely, she was not glad to see Jasper at all and was rather terrified. She only receives a grunt in response. She decides not to push it. She knows better. Jasper goes directly to bed. Lapis stays on the couch for a few minutes, texting Peridot to tell her not to come over in the morning.

“Coming to bed Lapis?” she hears Jasper ask from the other room, it was a demanding tone of voice, however, not questioning. Lapis knew what was about to come. She dreaded it, but she knew if she didn’t comply, only pain would come. She left her phone and went to bed.

Jasper never asked. She just did what she wanted to Lapis, whenever she wanted. Lapis tried to fight it before but learned quickly that it wouldn’t be tolerated. Eventually, Lapis just laid down and took it. Jasper just liked to watch as she forced Lapis to come. Lapis had gotten good at faking it, so it would end sooner. Afterward, she would go to the shower, and just cry while Jasper went to sleep. But tonight, Lapis was not going to have it. She thought of Peridot, meeting her changed everything. She made her feel safe. At least for a moment. She was good and Lapis was going to have something good. Even if it meant killing herself. 

Lapis lays down on the bed facing away from Jasper. Jasper is confused, she places her hand on Lapis’s arm. Lapis doesn’t respond, she only lays there unmoving and silent. “Come on Lazuli don’t do this again,” Jasper says slowly pulling Lapis’s arm roughly, and Lapis shakes her hand away.

“Not tonight Jasper,” suddenly, Jasper grabs Lapis by the hair and throws her against a wall, it knocks the wind out of her, she coughs and struggles to breathe as another blow comes to her face directly at her eye. 

“Is this what I get for taking a fucking flight back to this shithole from Kuwait!? I ask for one thing, and you reject me. I can’t believe this! I came back for you, you self centered fucking cunt!” she is drunk. Lapis could tell because she is slurring her words. This made the situation all the more terrifying. “You selfish fucking bitch!” Jasper swings at her, Lapis moves out of the way before Jasper’s fist comes into contact with her eye again, it hits her nose instead. Her face wets with blood. She rolls away as Jasper stumbles and falls. She runs to lock herself in the bathroom. Jasper quickly follows. They fight over the door for a few seconds, until Lapis closes and locks it.

“Leave Jasper, this is my house, get out!” she tries to sound angry and menacing, but it comes out as a sob. Jasper bangs on the door cracking the wood, with the force of her fist. Lapis hears things breaking and shuffling around as Jasper gathers her things and the front door slams, Lapis collapses to the floor and sobs.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Peridot awakes to a slam. It sounds like a door, she closes her eyes again, this apartment building sure is noisy, then she heard a familiar voice, screaming, she couldn’t make out the words but it was Lapis, screaming and crying, she sits up quickly, listening again, she heard another bang. This one sounded dangerous. She stands up and is suddenly wide awake, she stumbles through doors and walks out into the apartment hallway. A tall muscular looking woman with a bag leaves Lapis’s apartment, “What are you looking at?” the woman growls at Peridot walking past her. Peridot freezes in place and waits for her to leave before rushing to Lapis’s door. 

“Lapis are you in there?” Peridot asks, knocking frantically, her hand goes to the knob she gives it a twist to check if it’s unlocked, it is. “Lapis? … Lapis?.... I’m coming in if you don’t answer,” still she hears nothing “alright I’m coming in on three, one… two… three” she turns the knob and opens it, the apartment is in shambles. A complete 360 from what she saw this morning, the posters are ripped from the walls and the potted plants are thrown on the ground. Shattered ceramic and terracotta paint the floor. Pumpkin is cowering in the cat tree. Peridot calls for Lapis once more before her blood runs icy cold. She sees blood, lots of it, trailing to the bathroom. She gulps and rushes to the door. She tries to open it but it’s locked from the inside. “Lapis? Can you hear me?” Peridot awaits a response.

“Peri?” Lapis calls weakly from the bathroom floor, “Peridot is that you?” Peridot sighs in relief, she was conscious at least.

“Yes, it’s me! Lapis please open the door. It’s safe now, I promise,” Peridot coaxes. She hears the lock click Peridot immediately turns the handle and opens the broken door. Lapis was crying and bleeding badly on the floor.

“I’m sorry about the mess,” Lapis says in a rather creepy monotone sounding voice, Peridot shakes her head, Lapis is showing symptoms of shock.

“It’s alright,” Peridot does her best to be comforting, Lapis reaches out for Peridot. Peridot helps Lapis up off of the floor holding her arm and waist tightly. they walk to the kitchen and Peridot grabs a wad of paper towel, Lapis was dripping blood from her nose, Peridot wipes the blood from Lapis’s mouth and places the paper towel under Lapis's chin, “Hold this there,” Lapis complies, Peridot leads Lapis into her apartment. she has her sit down on the toilet seat and Peridot kneels in front of her. Lapis was spacing out, Peridot checks Lapis's nose thoroughly by pressing down to make sure it isn’t broken, everything seems to be in order so she could now properly stop the bleeding. Peridot pinches just below the bridge of Lapis’s nose with a tissue. “Can you hold this here like I am?” Lapis places her hand where Peridot’s was, “good, now you stay right here and I will be right back,” Peridot says standing up. 

She goes to get some essentials from Lapis’s apartment and cleans up the broken flower pots so it’s safe for the cat to move freely, she runs a mop over the floor to clean up any drying blood and leaves with Lapis’s keys and an overnight bag in hand. This will be a very long night. 


	3. You Could Stay.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot takes care of Lapis. This is gay. Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi ok, hurt and comfort TOOTH ROTTING FLUFF I hope you like it. this story will probably end soon, it's going in a MUCH different way than the way in which I intended for it to go. <3 <3

Peridot comes back to Lapis still holding her nose closed. ‘Good, the bleeding should be stopped by now’ she thinks to herself. Peridot kneels in front of Lapis, she takes the tissue from her nose, the bleeding did indeed stop. Peridot wets a rag and cleans Lapis’s face, Lapis places both hands on Peridot’s shoulders, she squeezes them and moans in pain looking down. Peridot looks up and tries to figure out what it was that was paining Lapis. She puts the pieces together when Lapis’s hand goes to her middle as if her chest hurt. Is it your ribs?” Peridot asks softly after cleaning her face, Lapis nods slowly, tears falling down her cheeks, her left eye turning a dark shade of purple. Peridot’s heart breaks into pieces for her new friend, “Can I feel them?” Lapis looks at her puzzled. Peridot explains, “I need to make sure none of them are broken.” Lapis nods leaning back slightly to allow access. Her left hand still on Peridot’s shoulder, the other gripping the side of the toilet seat. Peridots fingers slip under her shirt and Lapis gasps, flinching, tightening her grip on Peridot’s shoulder. Peridot stops to look at Lapis, “Just the ribs,” Peridot promises her, and Lapis relaxes again, her breathing is ragged and quick. Peridot feels each of the ribs where it seemed to be hurting, she finds nothing, “They’re probably just bruised,” Peridot removes her hands from under Lapis’s shirt and stands. She holds her hands out to help Lapis up, leading her out of the bathroom and toward her bedroom. 

Lapis goes to leave the apartment confused, but Peridot stops her, “Stay here tonight, it’s safer here. I’ll sleep on the couch,” Peridot begs her. Peridot holds Lapis’s hand gently, but firmly enough to keep her from going anywhere. Lapis silently agrees and Peridot leads Lapis to sit on Peridot’s bed. “I’ll get you some ice for your eye, you can change your clothes while I’m gone, I brought you some of what I thought might be comfortable from your apartment.” Peridot hands her the bag she took from Lapis’s apartment. Lapis nods, taking the bag gratefully and Peridot leaves the room closing the door behind her.

Lapis is exhausted. She shakily rummages through the bag and finds her favorite pair of sweatpants inside, she gets up to find a different shirt because the one she was wearing was covered in her own blood, “Peri?” Lapis calls weakly, but loud enough to be heard. Breathing was painful.

“Yeah?” Lapis hears Peridot call back, she hears footsteps coming toward her.

“Can I borrow one of your shirts?” Lapis calls out once more. Peridot kicks herself for forgetting a shirt,

“Sure, take one from my closet,” Peridot says reaching the door. Lapis rummages through Peridot’s closet, deciding on a plain NASA tee. Before slipping it on, she looks down at her ribs, she ghosts her fingers over where Peridot had touched her. Peridot is new, terrifying, and so, so careful. She puts her arms through the sleeves pulling it over her head slowly. It smells like her, she inhales deeply despite the pain. 

“You can come in now,” Lapis says to Peridot, who she knew was waiting by the door, the knob turns slowly and she steps in the room. She holds a bag of frozen peas, a bottle of water, and a kitchen towel. Lapis takes a moment to observe what Peridot looked like, she had short, fluffy blonde hair and large wire glasses, she’s wearing an oversized t-shirt and basketball shorts as pajamas. “Will you sit with me for a minute?” Lapis asks Peridot timidly, she needed some sort of physical affection. She felt like everything was falling and floating away, she needed to be brought back down to earth. Peridot could see it in her eyes.

“Why don’t you lay down?” Peridot speaks softly to the traumatized girl. Lapis sits on the bed and lays on her side slowly. Peridot sits on the floor next to her, “Here take these, they’ll help with the chest pain,” Peridot hands her some Advil, Lapis drinks from the bottle Peridot brought for her and lays back down. Peridot gets a little closer, “Can I touch you?” Peridot decides after the incident in the bathroom, that she needs to always ask permission before initiating physical touch. Lapis nods closing her eyes. “I’m sorry if this is cold,” Peridot almost whispers to her as she places the makeshift ice pack over Lapis’s eye. Lapis sighs reaching her hand out, Peridot grabs onto it, gently locking their thumbs together, it surprises Lapis but it is such a comfort she doesn’t say anything. “Do you want me to hold this on your eye for you?” Peridot is whispering now.

“If you want to…” Lapis is shy about this. She hates being vulnerable, and this is the most naked she has felt in a long time. She opens her eye in a silent panic

“I don’t mind,” Peridot assures her before Lapis can take it back. Peridot’s other hand lets go of Lapis’s and she moves it up and Lapis flinches, Jerking away quickly, Peridot apologizes immediately after.

“It’s alright, I’m fine I promise,” Lapis assures her

“You’re not fine though, She could’ve killed you. She almost did,” Peridot is almost crying. Her hand goes to Lapis’s hair much slower than before, she gently runs her fingers through it, Lapis closes her eye at the sensation, her hand mindlessly finds Peridot’s forearm, “I know we barely know each other, and I’m not very good at this whole being a friend thing, but I want to help.” she exhales, “I just don’t know how to,” Peridot’s voice breaks. She doesn’t know why she cares so deeply, but she does.

“You are helping,” Lapis says softly entwining her hand in Peridots. It was new, but comfortable and right, at least for the moment. Peridot’s hands are rough and calloused, Lapis’s are soft and delicate, fire and ice, water and wind. They compliment one another. Peridot slowly removes the ice from Lapis’s face. 

“You have yourself a shiner there my friend, I’m so sorry,” Peridot says running a finger over the bruise. Lapis opens her eyes and shifts onto her back to look at Peridot, wincing in the process.

“Is it bad?” Lapis asks concerned, “I have work on Monday,” 

“Not the worst I’ve seen,” Peridot says, “but it’s pretty bad.”

“I don’t know what I’ll tell my boss,” Lapis says sighing

“Just tell them the truth,” Peridot starts to move but pauses to warn Lapis, “I’m gonna stand up, is it okay if I sit on the bed with you?” Lapis nods, and shifts over to make room for her. Peridot stands slowly, slipping her hand from Lapis’s as she sits down. They sit quietly for a moment before Peridot speaks again, “do you wanna talk about what happened? You don’t have to, but I’ve heard that it can help sometimes.” Lapis shakes her head no, reaching for Peridots hand again, Peridot opens her hand and moves closer to Lapis for easy access, Lapis closes her eyes tracing circles over the callouses. They sit in comfortable silence before Lapis’s ministrations on Peridot’s hand slow down. Peridot glances at the clock, it was almost one in the morning. “I should leave so you can sleep,” Peridot says softly starting to get up, but Lapis grips her hand tightly. 

“You could stay,” Lapis whispers almost too quiet for Peridot to hear,

“Hm?” Peridot was sure she heard Lapis but she needed to confirm it was what she wanted.

“Stay. please? I don’t want to be alone. If that’s okay,” Lapis says clearly this time. Peridot smiles, 

“Okay. I’ll stay,” Lapis moves over to the other side of the double bed, to make more room for Peridot. Lapis’s eyes are heavy with exhaustion, she shivers from fear and cold, but Peridot sees it, “You don’t have to be so far away you know…,” Peridot’s bravery kicks in, “I could hold you if you want? If you think it would help.” Peridot offers freely, she would not mind if Lapis prefers to be untouched. Lapis feels stripped down to her core, but she was about to fall apart, she turns to face away from Peridot, dropping a silent hint which Peridot thankfully understands immediately.

She scooches close and wraps an arm around Lapis’s waist, but Lapis wants a hand to hold, she moves Peridot’s arm higher to her middle, to continue tracing Peridot’s hand. They both close their eyes. Lapis starts to cry, then sob. Peridot holds her tight to her body as she breaks. She watches as Lapis’s breathing goes from crying to hiccups, to sleep. Her shoulders rise and fall gently and rhythmically. Peridot gets back up to run over to Lapis’s apartment, she rummages around, finding cat food, and feeds Pumpkin for the morning, she locks Lapis’s apartment, going back to her own, and locks the door. She goes back to her bedroom to see Lapis still peacefully sleeping. Peridot lays back down and flicks the light off, finally getting some much-needed sleep. 


	4. Stay Awhile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sort of a filler chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this even though it's short. more coming soon.

Peridot wakes in the same position she fell asleep in, an arm draped loosely over Lapis’s waist, she carefully removes it and sits up slowly so as to not wake her bed mate. She leaves the bed and adjusts the comforter over Lapis’s shoulders, Lapis doesn’t move, so she must still be asleep. Peridot leaves the bedroom closing the door softly behind her. She glances at the clock, it was nearly 10 in the morning, but she is still tired and she also has a headache. She starts a pot of coffee and pulls some stuff out of the fridge to make breakfast with. Peridot heads to the small washer that she was lucky to get her hands on when she moved in, and starts Lapis’s clothes from last night. Peridot decides that some toast and eggs are a safe bet. Peridot was never a cook, but she knew enough to keep herself fed and healthy, although her love for soda and Doritos got in the way of the healthy part. Peridot tries to be as quiet as she can, but she sort of wants Lapis to wake up. 

Lapis wakes to the smell of coffee and slight banging around in the kitchen, she’s a little confused as to where she is for a moment, then remembers Peridot. Memories from last night come in like a hazy cloud, she worries for her cat. Her ribs are especially sore now, much worse than last night. Lapis stands and walks to Peridot’s bathroom, lucky for her, the apartments in this building are identical, they all had the same layout so it was easy for Lapis to navigate. Peridot hears her from the kitchen, Lapis looks at herself in the mirror. Her face is bruised, her eye swollen. She lifts the shirt she is wearing and turns around, she sees dark purple bruises cover three ribs where she hit the wall, she drops the shirt back down turning once again. Lapis leans against the counter looking at her reflection as memories flood back. She shakes her head willing them to go away and finds the bag Peridot brought for her last night. It has her cell phone inside, she has missed calls and texts from Jasper. She decides to ignore them for now. She dials her boss from the museum first. She makes a silent promise to be as professional about this as possible. “Hello, this is Aqua,” her boss’s British accent sounds loudly in her ear, Lapis winces,

“Hello, Ms. Marina, I’m so sorry to call like this, but there’s been a family emergency. I won’t be able to come in this week.” Lapis is almost lying to her but she’s really not.

“Oh, no worries love, you take care of yourself now. We will see you next Monday then ta ta now,” the phone dings indicating she hung up. Well, that was easier than she expected it to be. She dials Pearl from the diner next. 

“Hello, Lapis! This is Pearl speaking!” Pearl’s chipper voice makes Lapis angry, but she puts that to the back of her mind for now.

“Hey Pearl, Listen um, something came up, and I won’t be able to come in this week. Can you manage?”  Lapis asks Robotically, trying to sound completely normal and fine . She rubs the back of her neck with her hand awaiting a response. Pearl knows exactly what has happened, shes called in like this before, showing up the next week with fading bruises. Pearl is empathetic for her employees so she is always prepared for times like these, especially for Lapis. 

“That will be fine, and did she…,” Pearl begins, but Lapis cuts her off. 

“Please, don’t ask questions. Thanks, Pearl. I’ll see you next Monday.” Pearl gasps at being cut off, but Pearl’s anger then turns to understanding. Lapis really didn’t want to hear Pearl’s, ‘I told you so’ talk right now. Shes heard it far too many times before. Pearl sighs,

“See you next Monday,” Pearl says before hanging up the phone. Lapis looks through the bag again, finding her hairbrush and toothbrush. Lapis fixes her hair and brushes her teeth before joining Peridot in the Kitchen. 

Peridot Is scrambling eggs when Lapis comes into the room, Lapis is shuffling, and in visible pain. “Good morning,” Peridot greets her, Lapis shuffles to the couch, she sits and tries not to show the amount of pain shes in. but Peridot sees right through it. She looks out from the kitchen, raising her eyebrows looking over her glasses at her. “Don’t pretend like it doesn’t hurt,” Lapis looks at her and smiles, it felt really good to smile. Peridot comes over to Lapis, with a T.V. tray and a plate of food, she flips the tray open, placing the plate on it and handing Lapis a fork before going back to the kitchen, “You have to eat before you take these,” Peridot says placing another bottle of water and two Advil above her plate on the T.V. tray. Lapis is absolutely astonished at Peridot. No one had ever taken care of her like this before aside from Amethyst. 

“This is good, thank you,” Lapis says chewing as Peridot giggles walking in with a cup of coffee and her own plate.

“Oh and don’t worry about Pumpkin, she’s been fed,” Peridot says sitting down next to Lapis who sighs in relief. 

“Good I was worried,” Lapis responds before taking another bite. They eat in silence, Peridot watches Lapis discreetly but carefully, being sure Lapis was okay, “I’m sorry about last night, I was really out of it,” Lapis says after finishing her breakfast, 

“You don’t need to apologize, I’m just glad I was there,” Peridot says sincerely, Lapis takes the pills and Peridot clears the dishes, “ I don’t want to think about what could’ve happened if I wasn’t there,” Peridot says as she turns the sink on and begins the dishes. Lapis looks at her phone once more, she reads the texts from Jasper.

‘ **_Lapis I’m sorry I was just drunk and horny._ ** ’ ‘ **_Lapis answer the phone._ ** ’  ‘ **_Are you really leaving me?_ ** ’ ‘ **_You won’t get away with this that easy. I’ll be back._ ** ’ Lapis gasps at that last message. Peridot finishes the dishes and walks into the living room again. She freezes, Lapis looks disturbed, 

“What’s wrong?” Peridot asks concerned. Lapis starts to panic, she hands her phone to Peridot, unable to speak. Fear digs into Lapis like a barbed fish hook. Peridot winces as she reads the message, she looks around, thinking quickly. The words fall out of her mouth, slippery and nervous, “You could stay… stay… here with me, bring Pumpkin. We can figure this out together. Please, just let me help you.” Lapis is having a panic attack, her breathing quickens and she is unable to move or speak, Peridot gets close, and Lapis leans forward, Peridot does what she feels is right. She embraces her tightly but gently, Lapis can get away if she desires, but she leans into the hug accepting it. There was something about Peridot that was just so calm so steady. Maybe it was her hands? Her eyes? Her breath? Her voice? No, it’s just her. She hears her whispering. “Come back Lapis, come back to me,” Peridot is begging her now. Lapis is listening. She doesn’t know how long had passed since she lost touch, but her breathing slows and she calms down. She remembers Peridot’s offer.

“I think I’ll move in with you Peridot. If you’re sure that’s okay with you. Just until I can finalize a restraining order,” Lapis finally speaks. A wave of relief washes over Peridot as she releases her embrace. 

“Whatever you think is best. We can start now.” Peridot says standing and holding her hand out for Lapis to take. It feels like Peridot is pulling Lapis from the ocean she has been drowning in for so many years. She doesn’t know when she will be able to trust again or even love again, but she is determined to trust Peridot, no matter how long it takes.


	5. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> whoops I made them kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if this is awful. I'm sorry if it is.

They spend the rest of the morning packing up essentials from Lapis’s apartment. Lapis kept looking over her shoulder like someone or something was going to get her if she didn’t stay alert. Peridot noticed this and tried to be conscious of her movements, being as slow as she could. She would warn Lapis whenever she came close to her. Lapis was grateful for this. Peridot was building trust with Lapis. Trust is the baseline for every relationship, but Peridot had seen Lapis at her most vulnerable before they even knew each other’s favorite color. Peridot did most of the work, Lapis was sort of crippled, rib injuries are hard to manage on their own, let alone when lifting and moving heavy things. 

Peridot is packing up the last suitcase of clothes as Lapis grabs Pumpkin. Peridot fixes up Lapis’s bathroom door as best she could before leaving. They enter Peridots apartment, items and cat in hand. Peridot takes a moment to look at how full her apartment looks. It actually looks like a place where someone lives. It’s usually empty and sterile looking, but there are now pictures and books on the shelves. They belong to Lapis, but they still decorate the place nicely anyway. Lapis lays down on the couch still holding Pumpkin, she releases her to let her explore the new apartment, Peridot places her litter box in the exact same place it was in Lapis’s, Peridot was not about to clean up a cat mess. She meows happily, jumping into the cat tree scratching at the carpet that covers it. Peridot sighs in relief, she wouldn’t have to worry about clawed furniture. Peridot turns to sit at her desk, she pulls her briefcase out and Lapis quickly sits up to get a good look at it, “Oooh a businesswoman with her briefcase. Do you wear a suit and tie as well?” Lapis asks lightly teasing. Peridot blushes,

“It’s for my university job… and yes, I actually do wear a suit,” she replies getting up to start the dryer. “Thank you for reminding me,” Peridot says, bowing to her new roommate.

“Oh, delicious,” Lapis says bowing back, Peridot sticks her tongue out at her. Lapis giggles getting up to grab a book, Peridot sits back down turning on her desk lamp, grabbing a pen, to make some last-minute adjustments to her paperwork for tomorrow. Lapis curls up and peeks over her book to watch Peridot work, she admires her tics when she focuses. the way she bounces her knee and bites her thumbnail before writing something down. Lapis runs her fingers across the cover of the book, remembering the calloused feel of Peridot’s hand in hers, shes pulled out of her thoughts when Peridot speaks.

“What are you reading?” Peridot asks stacking papers back into her briefcase, aware she‘s being watched even though she can’t see Lapis.

“Oh, its a book called East of Eden by John Steinbeck,” Lapis replies taken aback quickly opening the book, and Peridot comes to sit next to her 

“What is it about?” Peridot asks genuinely. Lapis had never had someone care about what she was interested in.

“Oh, it’s silly,” Lapis says blushing, curling further into herself. 

“No, I want to know,” Peridot says, trying to pull Lapis out of her shell,

“It’s about two families and their interwoven stories. We could read it to…,” she pauses, “No that’s silly,” she shakes her head, turning to the first pages, but Peridot understands what Lapis meant. She gets a little closer looking over Lapis’s shoulder and begins reading,

“The Salinas Valley is in Northern California…,” Peridot reads from the book aloud. Peridot and Lapis read from the book together trading off paragraphs, before Peridot goes to make some dinner. Peridot plays EDM music, Lapis shuffles in to help. Peridot is dancing, it makes Lapis giggle and Peridot twirls her out of the kitchen, “You go sit down, I’ve got this, you like pasta right?” Peridot Calls from the kitchen still dancing.

”Yes,” Lapis laughs out as she sits on the couch. Lapis flicks the T.V. on, surfing through channels until she settles for Jeopardy. Peridot turns her music down as the question is read,

“Saturn’s moons range from boulder size to this enormous moon that is larger than Mercury.“ Alex Trebek’s voice sounds from the T.V., 

“What is Titan!” Peridot yells from the kitchen shortly before the actual contestant answers the same thing. Lapis giggles.

“NASA nerd!” Lapis yells from the couch. 

“What can I say? I like science,” Peridot says coming into the room with two plates of alfredo,

“She also likes to cook apparently, Thank you,” Lapis says, taking the plate gratefully from Peridot. They eat quietly watching the show.

Peridot irons her Suit for the morning and finishes some other household chores before they both settle down to watch a movie, Peridot picks The Matrix. Lapis was never a movie gal, so she left that up to Peridot. Lapis feels almost like she is in a dream, she’s never had happiness like this before. Her hand slips into Peridot’s as if it were meant to be there. Peridot is braver than she is, Peridot pulls Lapis close placing an arm around her, and as if by chance, Lapis looks up as Peridot looks down, Lapis’s stomach erupts with butterflies and Peridot is sweating pinballs. Peridot’s hand lifts to the side of Lapis’s face, her thumb runs over the bruise under Lapis’s eye gently and Lapis is suddenly falling, she can’t stop herself from leaning in. Peridot follows the movement slower than Lapis of course. Peridot wants Lapis to have full control of situations like this, Lapis stops just shy of a kiss, she breathes slowly. Peridot’s breath ghosts over Lapis’s lips as Peridot whispers to her,

“We don’t have to, you can…,” she’s cut off by Lapis’s lips on hers. It is not a forceful or demanding kiss like it was with Jasper. It’s a sensation Lapis had never felt. It was a kiss of comfort, of want, it’s warm and inviting, and in her control. Peridots hand goes to Lapis’s waist, She kisses her back slowly, carefully. Allowing Lapis to make every movement, every decision, hers to make. Lapis deepens the kiss, her tongue gliding over Peridot’s bottom lip. Peridot allows access, sighing softly. their tongues dance for a moment before Lapis pulls away smiling. Peridot is dumbfounded. Lapis sits up to look at Peridot in the eyes. Her hand goes behind Peridot’s head and Lapis can’t stop herself from kissing Peridot again. It is even warmer this time, faster. It’s Peridot who pulls away this time, “I, barely know you,” Peridot says panting, the light from the television reflects in her glasses.

“We have time Peri,” Lapis says, reaching up to touch Peridot’s lips again. “I’ve never met anyone like you before and I’m so so scared to say, that I think I want you. I want you in my life forever.” Lapis whispers, stroking Peridot’s cheek gently, “You cared for me when no one else would. That speaks volumes.” Lapis assures her.

“I just want to help,” Peridot voices, 

“You did help. You are helping. You’re protecting me, feeding me, letting my cat in. I haven’t had to worry about Jasper in hours. Before, every waking second. I would be worried she would walk in and hurt me. And now you’re here and I’m… I’m safe Peridot. I… I don’t know how to thank you.” Lapis is speaking quickly, afraid. Peridot moves Lapis’s hair out of her eyes,

“You don’t need to thank me,” Peridot demands and notices Lapis is leaning in again. 

“Kiss me, please?” Lapis asks needily.

“You’re sure this is okay?” Lapis nods quickly and Peridot connects her lips with Lapis’s once again. This kiss is hot and needy. Lapis’s hands roam over Peridot’s chest, finding the hem of her shirt lifting it slightly, slipping her hands underneath. Peridot lets out a slight moan at the touch, but Lapis stops just as fast as she started. 

“I don’t think I’m ready for that part quite yet.” Lapis breathes out. 

“That’s okay. Wanna cuddle instead?” Lapis nods thankful that Peridot does not push the subject, and is rather understanding. Her heart swells with admiration. 

They both doze off as the movie plays on, it’s Peridot who wakes first, the credits are rolling and she glances at the clock. It’s a little past 10 pm, Lapis is asleep on her chest, Peridot rubs Lapis’s back gently, but hard enough to rouse her, “hm?” she responds as consciousness slightly grabs her. 

“Do you want to sleep out here, in the bed with me, or in the bed by yourself?” Peridot is still putting Lapis’s comfort at the top of her list.

“I wan come wif you,” Lapis says still half asleep unable to form full words, Peridot giggles softly.

“Come on then,” Peridot says moving out from under Lapis, and Lapis sits up reaching out for Peridot. She giggles nearly carrying Lapis to bed. Peridot sets her alarm for 6 am, she still has to shower in the morning, before heading to NASA at 8. They go to sleep, Peridot spooning Lapis, they sleep soundly.


	6. Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> uh oh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who all is shook over the finale? I cried. Anyway, I hope you like this. Sorry.

Peridot wakes to the sound of beeping, it’s loud and incessant she is comfortable and wishes she could stay like this forever. Peridot finally decides it’s best to turn the alarm off so as to not wake Lapis. Peridot gets up looking over, Lapis is still sound asleep, Peridot is still processing what happened last night. She gets ready in a sleepy haze, showering and dressing in her shop clothes, Jeans and a striped button-up embroidered with her name and NASA logo. She sips her coffee and writes Lapis a note. “ **_I’ll be back at 5, help yourself to any food in the fridge or pantry. You can use the T.V. or play videogames if you like. There’s Advil in the spice cupboard above the stove. call if there is an emergency xx -Peri._ **” she places the note on top of Lapis’s phone on the nightstand, Peridot looks at Lapis for a second, bruises still cloud her face but she looks peaceful, sleeping soundly in the glow of the rising sun. She grabs her backpack, suit, and briefcase before leaving the apartment quietly.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Lapis wakes in an empty bed, she doesn’t remember how she got there. Then she remembers last night, Peridot must have taken her. She sits up and hears Pumpkin meowing in the Living room, Lapis feeds her and goes to lay back down, shes still in considerable pain. It’s difficult to breathe due to the aching in her ribs and her face still feels swollen, she shivers at the thought of the other night with Jasper. She reaches for her phone, there’s a sticky note on it. Lapis giggles and runs her finger over Peridot’s handwriting, It’s adorable. It’s nerdy swooped comic sans-like handwriting. She gets the Advil and an orange from the fridge. Peridot likes to cut them up and place them into ziplock bags, sorted and dated neatly in the crisping drawer, but it doesn’t distract from the cases of mountain dew and energy drinks shoved carelessly on the shelves. Lapis giggles at the contradictory sight, closing the fridge. She goes to shower, It feels nice to be clean again, She puts on fresh clothes and goes to play a video game.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

Peridot’s day is going by considerably slow. She couldn’t tell if it was because she’s been in meetings most of the morning, or if she wanted to get back to Lapis. She puts her welding helmet down and begins working. She’s been working on a prototype for a new space shuttle. Its dimensions are considerably smaller but it’s hard work nonetheless. She takes a few photos to show Lapis when she gets home. She’s excited to share her work with someone besides her colleagues. Her shift at NASA is now ending. She goes to the locker room to shower and change. She puts her dress shirt on first, slowly. Her mind drifts to Lapis, she thinks about the way her hands might look unbuttoning the shirt she just buttoned. Peridot blushes, Lapis did make things very hard to focus on. Peridot shakes her head willing the thoughts away as she ties her dark gray tie. She pulls on her black blazer and laces her shoes before leaving the shop, waving goodbye to her colleagues. She drives to a small office building near the university campus. She goes directly to her desk to finalize the data calculations she made over the weekend, before turning them in to her boss, Ms. Amber Diamond. She is a clod at best, an absent boss with hardly a care for employees. She never praises or rewards them, she only wants the work to come in faster. She is on the phone when Peridot knocks. She goes to place them in her mailbox instead, not wanting to interact with her. She heads over to the break room to check her phone, she has several texts from Lapis. Peridot panics slightly, but that quickly goes away when she finds that it’s only Lapis live texting her experience trying to play Skyrim on Peridot’s Playstation console, “ **_Why can’t the dragons just chill?_ ** ” “ **_Why is everyone racist?_ ** ” “ **_Astrid from the dark brotherhood is my gay awakening_ ** ,” “ **_Oh wait she’s a bitch_ **,” Peridot reads them almost crying from laughter as she texts back, 

“ **_I’m missing the first time you play Skyrim? This is unacceptable. How dare you have fun without me_ **.” 

“ **_Ah, Ms. Ivy has finally looked at her phone. Well, I’m stuck in a dungeon and I can’t get out so, You get to help me with that later._ **” Peridot smiles at the fact Lapis remembered her last name.

“ **_Sounds like a plan, I’m almost done here._ **” Peridot texts this to let Lapis know she would be home soon.

“ **_See you soon._ **” Peridot reads the message and puts her phone away. Trying to place her focus on her work but finds that nearly impossible. The day drags on. 

—————————————----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lapis flinches slightly at the sound of the door opening, but immediately relaxes to see Peridot coming inside, She’s wearing her suit, it looks so professional and… hot. “Hey!” Peridot says taking off her backpack and setting down her briefcase.

“Hey! how was the elevator?” Lapis asks watching Peridot take off and hang her blazer. Lapis had taken the liberty of starting a meal, she is a disaster in the kitchen, but she knows how to cut vegetables. Peridot has a recipe ready for tonight, stir fry. Lapis is cooking the vegetables as Peridot comes into the kitchen, 

“Oh it was fine, scary as usual…” she pauses, smelling the cooking vegetables. “Ah so she can cook,” Peridot teases Lapis as she loosens her tie, Lapis comes closer grabbing the tie and pulls Peridot up for a kiss, this makes Peridot forget how to speak for a moment. She blushes and Lapis smiles, before speaking again.

“Hush,” Lapis shooshes her. Peridot takes over the cooking after composing herself. They sit down on the couch to eat. Afterward, Peridot changes into pajamas, and Lapis starts telling Peridot about the conversation she had earlier that day with the police department in regards to a restraining order, “They said that they are going to pull the security footage from the hallways, to verify it was her. Anyway, the reason I’m telling you all of this is, I uh… need a favor, can you take pictures of my bruises? They said they needed evidence…,” Lapis says in that weird monotone voice, she’s drifting away again.

“Sure I can do that for you,” Peridot says grabbing her hand carefully, trying to get her to come back to reality. Lapis suddenly snaps out of it, squeezing Peridot’s hand slightly before letting go. She hands Peridot her phone, Peridot gets up for a better angle. The first picture is of Lapis’s eye and face. Peridot swallows as Lapis lifts her shirt up. She quickly takes a picture of the bruises handing back Lapis’s phone. Lapis e-mails the pictures to the police department, 

“Do you think they’ll believe me?” Lapis finally asks worry pulling at her voice. 

“Of course they will. With me as a witness, they’ll have no choice but to believe you,” Peridot says trying to reassure her.

There is suddenly a loud knock from down the hall, and Lapis immediately recognizes it. She’s heard it many times before. It’s an ear-piercing banging. One that would sound whenever Lapis locked her door. Jasper did not approve of Lapis locking doors. “Lapis! Open this fucking door. I know you’re in there!” the banging continues. Peridot acts quickly, moving clothes out of the closet, she’s trying to get Lapis to hide, but Lapis can barely move. Peridot quickly grabs her hand and puts her in the closet. The feel of Peridot’s hand in hers brings her out of it, Lapis comes back to reality just as fast as she left it. 

The two can hear the doorknob jiggling from Lapis’s apartment. “Lapis you need to call the police,” Peridot says desperately. Lapis nods slowly, settling into the closet. Peridot covers her in clothes and closes the closet door. She goes back out to the living room. The bangs get louder. Jasper is slamming her entire body into Lapis’s door, trying to break it down. It happens rhythmically like a stick to a drum. 

“Lapis,” **_bang._ ** “open,” **_bang._ ** “this,” **_bang._ ** “fucking,” **_bang._ ** “door!” Jasper is screaming now, slamming her body into the locked door with each word she speaks, Peridot can hear Lapis talking from the closet. The door breaks in, they can hear the door hit the floor of Lapis’s apartment. “Where the fuck are you hiding bitch?!” the voice gets distant, Jasper is looking for her now. Peridot grabs a baseball bat. She waits by the door in case she tries to break hers in too, time passes by achingly slowly. “I guess you’re not in here huh?” Jasper had murder in her voice, she begins to throw things around Lapis’s apartment. She hears glass breaking. 

——————————————————————————————————————————-

“911 where is your emergency,” a male operator speaks on the other line. Lapis’s voice is low and hushed.

“160 Beach Avenue, Floor 18. There’s someone trying to break into my apartment,” Lapis is on the verge of tears now, her voice breaking. The banging starts. 

“I have an officer on the way ma’am, are you hidden?” the man asks, his voice is hushed. 

“Yes, I’m in my...friend’s apartment. Hidden in the closet.” Lapis says shivering, “I just heard my door break,” Lapis is whispering now.

“Ma’am, do you know the person that’s breaking in?” the man asks

“Yes. She’s my ex-girlfriend. She is abusive, are they almost here?” Lapis is almost begging the operator. The bangs suddenly start on Peridot’s door. Lapis can hear it. She drops the phone.

“Open the door pipsqueak I know you’re hiding that lying cheating bitch,” Lapis can hear the doorknob jiggle. Both of their stomachs drop to their feet.


	7. Suffocate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper and Peridot face off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW Gun violence is mentioned in this chapter. sorry this is so short, this story is almost over
> 
> hope you all are doing well

Jasper watches Peridot’s apartment closely from the sidewalk two blocks away, binoculars in hand. She maps out the exact location of where the apartment lays from Lapis’s using Lapis’s location from her phone. Fury runs through her body hotter than her own blood.  
Lapis is hers and hers alone. She went through all the trouble of fooling her, and she never just lets go. Jasper wants people she can use for pleasure or a punching bag. Just for fun, once she gets under their skin, there is no way out. Jasper makes sure of that. Jasper isn’t in the airforce. That’s just what she tells all of her so-called, “lovers,” She hops from city to city, state to state visiting each of her captives. The list of them is so long that it takes weeks, sometimes months to get around to all of them. Whenever something goes haywire she leaves for a few months and then comes back around for some more fun. She takes joy in having a secret web of prisoners, Lapis however, is her personal favorite, so soft, so susceptible to manipulation.  
She looks through the binoculars, Lapis is smiling, and that scrawny, short, nerd from the other night walks into the frame of the window, Lapis pulls her up for a kiss and Jasper’s grip on the binoculars tightens significantly. They nearly shatter in her hands. Jasper is shaking with absolute fury. Lapis was cheating on her? The thought of Lapis with another woman makes Jasper actually break the binoculars, they snap in half, she gets into her truck and drives to the nearest gun store, Jasper has murder on her mind tonight, and if she’s going to be killing anyone, it’s going to be that pathetic blonde little runt.  
Once she has obtained her desired items, which include a small handgun and 50 rounds of ammo, she decides to freak them out a little bit, by having some fun with Lapis’s apartment, all is quiet from Peridot’s apartment as Jasper goes haywire in Lapis’s. Once happy with her work, completely demolishing everything in her sight she goes to Peridots apartment.  
——————————————————————————————————————————-  
Peridot holds her ground when Jasper starts to bang on the apartment door. Although fearful, she is ready to protect her home. “I know you’re in there shorty,” Jasper sounds crazed, her voice is sing-song like, it’s creepy. Peridot stays silent. Jasper bangs on the door again, Peridot speaks this time.  
“Go away. This is my property, don’t make me call the police,” Peridot’s courage comes in stronger than ever, Jasper smiles stepping away from the door and loading her gun.  
“This stupid bitch just gave herself away,” Jasper says to herself as she aims and fires. Peridot hears a muffled scream along with the gunshot which she can only assume is Lapis. Peridot hopes Jasper didn’t hear it. she freezes fearing for her life, her attention is drawn back to her front door when Jasper kicks it open. She had shot the lock off the door. Peridot swings her bat at her, Jasper dodges it and Peridot stumbles, she steadies herself before turning back to face Jasper. she yells loudly and swings at Jasper again, the bat makes contact with her hand. Jasper grins when she catches it, almost like she’s playing some sort of sick game with Peridot. She pulls on the bat, dragging Peridot towards her before she can let go, Jasper kicks Peridot’s knee in, dislocating the cap. Peridot screams in pain and falls to the ground. Jasper walks over to her, she’s crawling around on the floor trying to get back up, Jasper laughs at the pathetic attempt and kicks Peridot in her side causing her to flop on her back, Jasper pins her to the floor with her foot. Peridot holds her hands up in the surrender position. The gun is now pointed directly at Peridot’s head. Peridot’s eyes water, tears falling on their own accord, Jasper scoffs.  
“Tell me where she is. Or I’ll blow that pathetic look right off your head.” Jasper growls pulling the hammer down on the gun, readying it to fire again. Her eyes are firey with terrifying rage, Peridot looks into them trying to plead for mercy with her eyes. Jasper laughs maniacally, “I’ve been watching the two of you,” Jasper’s foot pushes into Peridot’s chest, it becomes painful. Peridot squirms trying to escape, her hands slipping off of the rubber boot trying to push it away, the attempt is useless, but Peridot continues trying to push the boot off of her. Jasper speaks again, increasing the pressure. “You’ve been letting her stay here, haven’t you? After you ‘saved’ her,” Jasper makes air quotes over the word saved. Waving the gun around as she speaks. “I’ve been watching, into the windows. I’ve even got Lapis’s Phone bugged. It’s too late to save her now, so why don’t you just tell me where she’s hiding?” Jasper’s foot presses even harder into Peridot’s chest, cutting off her ability to breathe. Her face turns red and her eyes go wide, she coughs before wheezing out one last sentence.  
“I would die before I tell you anything!” Peridot coughs out, unable to inhale again. She frantically tries to gasp, and the outer ring of her world starts to turn black. Her sense of touch is lost. She feels only the burning urge to breathe when suddenly, everything floods back. She inhales deeply, coming back to reality. Everything is blurred, but she can make out the shape of Lapis, she’s hitting Jasper with the previously forgotten bat. Peridot gets up on one leg to help after gaining her senses back, she hears another gunshot. She falls to the floor and everything turns gray.  
——————————————————————————————————————————-  
The first shot rings through Lapis’s ears, she screams. She can hear the 911 operator, faintly from the distant phone, but she’s already standing up opening the closet door. Lapis goes numb, and without Peridot to bring her back down to earth, she loses it, falling into a fit of rage. She walks to the bedroom door. She can hear Jasper talking about how she’s been stalking them. She opens the door silently. She walks into the living room and sees Jasper pinning Peridot to the floor. Jasper is far too distracted to notice Lapis coming into the room, Jasper’s back is turned to her. Lapis looks at Peridot for a moment, she listens as Peridot speaks. Her voice barely audible, “I would die before I tell you anything,” her eyes close. She’s being strangled. Lapis runs up and pushes Jasper off of her, she hears Peridot gasp. She quickly grabs the first thing she sees to hit her with, Peridot’s baseball bat. She hits her hard over the back a few times. Jasper turns, pointing the gun directly at Peridot as she stands determined to finish what she started.  
Jasper pulls the trigger. Everything is in slow motion now, Lapis watches helplessly as Peridot falls to the floor. Lapis loses it entirely, hitting Jasper hard on her head, knocking her out cold. Jasper falls to the ground, the gun skids across the floor, Lapis runs over to a barely conscious Peridot. Lapis pulls Peridot’s head into her lap, there’s so much blood at this point, Lapis can’t figure out where it’s coming from. She follows Peridot’s arm with her eyes. Peridot’s hands are covered in blood. She’s holding her upper left stomach where the epicenter of the blood seems to be, a small pool of it gathers at Peridot’s elbow, Lapis immediately places her hand on top of Peridot’s, pressing and trying to stop the bleeding. Peridot stares at the ceiling as everything starts to fade to white. Sirens sound and Lapis sobs.


	8. Tremble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot wakes in the hospital

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this!

Peridot is not fully awake yet, but she is aware that she is alive. Everything feels muted, the sounds, the pain, the air, even the hand in hers. The hand in hers? Peridot cracks one eye open, it’s bright in the room she is in, so she closes it again. She breathes deeply, scrunching her face up in confusion and pain, her chest aches, where is she? What happened? 

“Peridot?” a familiar voice says her name softly, like the words of a song. Peridot is more awake now, and so is the pain in her abdomen. The hand in hers is familiar, delicate. Everything smells clean and sterile, she hears a soft beeping sound, it matches with the thrumming in her ears. She concludes that she is in a hospital room. Her head hurts, her throat is very sore and she wants water badly. “Peridot? Can you hear me?” there’s that voice again. Soft and familiar, it almost sounds like… 

“Lapis?” Peridot speaks before she finishes her thought. She comes crashing back into reality, her voice is croaky, she feels like she’s been gargling razor blades. A hand comes up to the side of her face, stroking softly.

“I’m right here,” Lapis’s voice is teary, it sounds like she’s been crying. Peridot tries to open her eyes again, it’s easier now. She shifts her eyes assessing her surroundings. Off-white, almost tan walls surround her, she is still very tired. Her eyes finally shift far enough to make contact with Lapis.

“Where am I?” Peridot asks still confused. Lapis’s hand goes to Peridot’s hair, she runs her fingers through it gently. 

“You’re in the hospital, do you want me to get the nurse?” Lapis responds, Peridot closes her eyes and shakes her head no slowly, swallowing dryly. Lapis sees her wince as she swallows, she removes her hand from Peridot’s and goes to get a small paper cup to fill with water, she puts a straw in it and goes back to Peridot’s bedside, she holds the straw to Peridots lips, Peridot suddenly puts together what is happening. Peridot tries to lean forward but she is far too weak to do so, Lapis does it for her, Placing her hand gently behind Peridot’s head, supporting it. Peridot drinks from the cup quickly. She feels a little better now, so she opens her eyes again. Lapis sets the cup on the over-bed table sitting back down to talk with Peridot. 

“Lapis, what the hell happened back there?” Peridot says now that she can finally speak clearly.

“You don’t remember?” Lapis asks, 

“All I remember is that lunatic tried to strangle and shoot me,” Peridot is a little more alert now.

“She succeeded at one of those things. They had to do emergency surgery to save your kidney. They said that you were very lucky. She dislocated your knee. you have broken ribs as well,” Lapis says guiltily and Peridot sighs, feeling the brace on her left leg and the aching in her chest where Jasper’s foot laid. 

“The list goes on and on now doesn’t it?” Peridot says her voice drifts off as she touches the bandage over her stomach. Her body begins to shake, she doesn’t know why.

“I’m so sorry Peri. This is all my fault.” Lapis says, she brings Peridot’s hand to her lips, placing soft kisses over the knuckles as tears drip down her face. She quickly wipes them away trying to compose herself, this is about Peridot, not her. She notices the shaking, “You’re trembling,” Lapis says concerned and Peridot shifts uncomfortably, the pain is becoming more and more pronounced by the second.

“You should get that nurse now,” Peridot whispers, her eyes closing again. Lapis reaches up to hit the call button, Peridots hand squeezes Lapis’s tightly.

“Does it hurt?” Lapis asks sitting on the bed with her, Lapis’s hand goes back to stroking Peridot’s hair, Peridot nods slowly her eyes still closed. 

“That feels nice though,” Peridot says tightly, trying not to cough. Lapis smiles at that. Peridot opens her eyes as the nurse walks in.

“Hello, Ms. Ivy, good to see you awake,” Lapis sits back down in the chair trying to get out of the way, the nurse comes with a tray of medical supplies, bandages, bottles and... syringes. The nurse is explaining that she’s going to change her bandages and give her something for the pain, but Peridot isn’t listening. She’s holding Lapis’s hand tightly. She’s quite afraid of needles, no one knows this about her except for her mother. Lapis sees the panic in her eyes and follows them, she’s looking at the syringes, that’s when Lapis puts it all together. 

“It’s okay Peri, they’re gonna put it in your IV,” Lapis points to the tube in Peridot’s arm, Peridot looks down at it confused then sighs in relief.

“Ms. Ivy, I’m gonna have to lift your gown for this, would you like some privacy?” the nurse asks, eyes going to Lapis. Lapis starts to slip her hand from Peridot's but Peridot grips it tightly. 

"Lapis stays," Peridot says firmly looking at Lapis with pleading eyes. Peridot was there when Lapis needed her. Now Lapis needs to be here for Peridot. Lapis stands and sits on the bed facing her, blocking her view of the nurse. She begins to stroke her hair again trying to distract her from the pain.

“Where is she now?” Peridot is asking about Jasper.

“She’s here. She’s in police custody. Apparently they’ve been trying to track her down for months,” Lapis says honestly, “We don’t have to worry about her now at least,” Lapis tries to look on the bright side. 

“I hope she rots for this,” Peridot says angrily, inhaling sharply as the nurse applies a cleaning solution to the surgery site. 

“Let’s not talk about this right now,” Lapis notices Peridot’s heart rate rising so Peridot takes a deep breath. Trying to relax again.

“You’re right. We can worry about this later,” Peridot’s speech slows and she closes her eyes as the nurse administers the painkiller. “I think I’m high now,” Peridot says high pitched and slow, Lapis giggles. 

“Go to sleep, I’ll be right here when you wake up. I promise,” Lapis says running a finger up and down Peridot’s cheek and Peridot’s eyes droop shut, and she’s pulled into blackness once again.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

The next time Peridot wakes, it’s dark. She isn’t in pain, which is nice. “Hey you,” someone says softly to her, Peridot immediately recognizes the voice as Bismuth’s. She turns her head to see her friend sitting in the chair next to her at her bedside, her arms are folded, she’s grinning, knowing she’s surprised her. Peridot smiles bigger than she has in a long time she hasn’t seen Bismuth in months, “Sorry I don’t have a medkit or a potion for you,” Bismuth says jokingly referring to the games they play.

“Would be nice, wouldn’t it?” Peridot questions, her voice is scratchy with sleep. 

“Want some water?” Bismuth asks quickly, noticing this and Peridot nods.

“Where’s Lapis?” Peridot asks suddenly, very concerned. Bismuth reassures her immediately.

“Shes asleep over there,” Bismuth points while holding the cup and pouring the water. Peridot turns her head in the direction and sees Lapis asleep on the chair up against the wall across the room. A blanket covers her, “She called me to come and take care of you while she gets some rest, the nurse came in a few minutes ago to give her that blanket,” Bismuth explains. Peridot looks at Lapis, the bruises on her face are fading, shes leaned back with her head to the side, she looks uncomfortable and exhausted, deep purple bags adorn her under eyes. Peridot sighs sadly. Bismuth comes with the water, she helps her drink so Peridot didn’t have to ask. Peridot tells Bismuth about all that happened.

“Sounds like you’ve been quite the hero,” Bismuth looks over at Lapis, She tells me shes been your hero too.

“What do you mean?” Peridot asks confused.

“You don’t know?” Bismuth asks also confused.

“No, I got shot and then everything went white,” Peridot looks at Lapis then at Bismuth, “Tell me everything,” 


	9. Saviour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally winding down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for coming with me on this crazy journey

**_8 pm the night of the attack_ **

Lapis quickly stops crying, Peridot is fading, and the EMTs won’t get here fast enough. Lapis immediately starts chest compressions. She learned CPR years ago but never thought she would have to use it. She focuses mostly on compressions, only stopping to breathe for her every 8 seconds or so. She can’t stop for any reason, Peridot is going to live tonight. She can feel her ribs break underneath her hands.

The EMTs and police finally show up as Lapis collapses, they take over the compressions, taking Peridot away on a gurney and time seems to catch up from the slow-motion earlier, they arrest Jasper who is taken away, handcuffed in an ambulance. Everything is moving too fast for Lapis to comprehend. Before she knows it, she’s showered changed and already in the waiting room of the hospital.

Lapis is barely listening to the surgeon as she explains what they did to Peridot, Lapis doesn’t care, she’s been waiting for hours, all she wants to do is be by her side. “Can I see her?” she asks, cutting the surgeon off,

“I’m sorry miss, what?” the surgeon is astonished, her mouth agape.

“Can I, see her?” Lapis says firmer this time. The surgeon suddenly understands Lapis isn’t interested in the details, she closes her mouth.

“Yes, you can follow me to her room, she is coming out of anesthesia, she will be out of it for a while,” Lapis nods, not really listening to that last part. The surgeon opens the door and Lapis bursts into tears as she runs over to her side.

“I’m so sorry Peridot this is all my fault,” Lapis’s hand entwines with Peridot’s, it’s cold against hers. Lapis wishes she could take this whole weekend back. Maybe none of this would have happened. She suddenly remembers that Peridot is the reason she took her power back. Peridot made her feel safe, for the first time in two years. Peridot is Lapis’s reason to move on. 

Lapis became a bird that day and she’s ready to soar through the sky with Peridot. She loves her, and that’s all she can offer, all she can do. She knows that it’s enough.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Peridot touches her chest carefully after Bismuth finishes the story, she looks back over at Lapis with tears in her eyes, “She was there?” Peridot asks herself softly, fuzzy memories come into her mind of the ceiling, “She saved my life,” she says this as tears drip down the sides of her face. 

“Yes she did,” Bismuth says reaching out to wipe the tears from Peridot’s eyes. Bismuth pauses for a moment, deciding whether or not to say it, “She told me she loves you. She said that after everything that night, she couldn’t see a future without you being a part of it,” Bismuth lets the words fall out, it feels like the right thing to do

Peridot lays there wordlessly falling after Bismuth said it. She realizes that even after everything, Peridot gave, and Lapis gave back. She’s falling for everything Lapis was and is. Falling for her smile her laugh, the moments they shared, she looks back upon the first time her eyes laid upon her, to the first time Lapis spoke, to the moment Peridot saw her break. Peridot realizes she would do anything or be anything for her. It’s hard for her to believe it’s only been three days. To Peridot it felt like an eternity, but life is short, Peridot knows this now, she’s not interested in following the rules of society because she too loves Lapis, without any second question or thought. Peridot doesn’t know Lapis, but she has the rest of her life to find out. Lapis wakes, feeling Peridot’s eyes on her. They lock eyes and make an unspoken agreement; To love each other unconditionally and without question. Peridot was never one to believe in things like soulmates, but if she had to pick one, it would be Lapis.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

Peridot recovers slowly but surely in the hospital. Doctors and policemen buzz about the room, day in and day out. Peridot’s colleagues come to visit her, Amber Diamond even sends a card. Peridot’s mother, Zircon flies in. Zircon is a well-established lawyer in Colorado and will be representing Peridot in a court case against Jasper. Lapis’s situation is a bit more complicated. Zircon’s twin sister works with Lapis and the rest of Jasper’s web of victims. Jasper will spend the rest of her life behind bars.

Lapis and Peridot move out of that apartment building, and into a small house by the countryside, their drive to work is long, but they don’t mind, they like the scenery. Steven moved in shortly afterward, he began a career in psychology, happy to be spending time with his sister once more. He moves out his sophomore year leaving Lapis and Peridot to be alone once more.

Peridot finally grows the courage to ask Lapis to marry her, they have a small ceremony under a setting sun with all their loved ones present. They both got a pretty hefty chunk of change from the lawsuit, they put it away, to start a family one day. Babies are expensive.

Pumpkin is doing just fine, she chases birds and mice around the property, loving all of the space where she is free to roam.

Peridot got a promotion at NASA and finally is able to work a full-time job there, leaving the CVS job and the data analysis behind, although Ms. Diamond still sends e-mails, requesting assistance with calculations from time to time, She finally admits that Peridot was one of her finest workers. Peridot and Bismuth still game on the weekends. 

Lapis found an integral fossil on her property, this boosted her paleontology career and allowed her to quit serving. She and Peridot eat at that diner every Friday night. Lapis sees a therapist now, attempting to move on from all that Jasper did to her and the night with the gun. Lapis finally found her bird, her reason to fly. Peridot is not only her reason to fly, but she is her wings too.


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> <3

“Turquoise?” Lapis calls walking around the backyard, subsequent giggles can be heard in the distance, “Turquoise Lazuli-Ivy?” Lapis calls again peeking around the tree that her daughter was hiding behind, “Ha! I found you!” Turquoise squeals with delight. Lapis gathers her little girl in her arms tickling her sides before plopping on the grass.

“Mommy! Look at the clouds!” Turquoise says, pointing her finger where big fluffy clouds coast across the sky.

“What are you girls doing out here?” Peridot asks coming out of the house with lemonades for everyone. 

“Mama!” Turquoise screams and runs to hug Peridot’s legs when she sees her. Peridot almost loses her balance, she places her hand on top of her daughter’s head and ruffles her hair. Lapis gets up to kiss her wife on the lips gratefully taking the lemonade from her.

“Miss Turquoise was showing me a cloud that looks like a dinosaur before she saw you, mama,” Lapis says reaching down to ruffle the young girl’s hair again. Turquoise takes a few sips of lemonade before running off to play again. Peridot wraps an arm around Lapis. Lapis lays her head on Peridot’s shoulder, they watch their daughter as she runs around the yard, Pumpkin follows suit, the sun setting slowly in the distance.

What a miracle sperm donors can be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. <3


End file.
